Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Friday, February 15, 2008

What is theology?

Theology is not an intellectual process carried out at a desk, but rather one which is carried forward from within missionary obedience by the church as theological subject, accompanied by professional theologians. Theology should not, and indeed cannot, be done as a non-committed act—active commitment is an essential prerequisite. Theology, thus conceived, is a synthetic act comprising both action and reflection. It is, therefore, not so much following Anselm of Canterbury’s fides quaerens intellectum—faith seeking understanding—but rather fides quaerens efficacitatem—faith seeking effectiveness. One could prĂ©cis Marx’s eleventh thesis on Feuerbach, saying: ‘it is not the responsibility of theology to understand the world but rather to change it’. Or more precisely it is the task of theology to accompany the Church in its task of changing the world.

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